In honour of these beloved Antarctic creatures, here are seven things you may not have known about penguins.

1) They once were able to fly

Alas, no more.

Poor penguins. They have all the features of birds – wings, beaks, the lot – but they don’t have the best part: the ability to fly.

However, it turns it this might not have been always the case.

According to recent research, penguins lost their ability because of the evolutionary advantages of having wings that enables them to swim effectively to hunt and travel.

‘Many species of penguin travel long distances between their breeding and feeding grounds on a journey that could be made far more quickly by flying than by walking and swimming,’ the study authors write.

‘As wings become more efficient for swimming they become less efficient for flying, and vice versa.’

2) Emperor penguins go against gender parenting stereotypes

An emperor penguin family (Photo: Ian Duffy/Wikimedia)

The stay-at-home mum isn’t a thing for emperor penguins. It’s the dad who’s in charge of looking after the younglings.

The female takes on the breadwinner role by setting off to find food once the egg is laid. So it falls to the male to stand over the egg to keep it warm in the long winter months.

The National Geographic says that the male penguins eat nothing during this long two-month period and feed the chick with milk from a gland in his oesophagus once it hatches.

3) Most believe in monogamy

Penguin love is the best kind of love (Photo: David Hoover/Flickr)

Penguins totally represent our relationships goals.

Many penguin species stick to one partner. One couple of Magnellic Penguins remained loyal to each other for 16 years despite being thousands of miles apart during winter periods in a study by Argentinian researchers in 2012.

5) Penguins don’t just live in cold climates

The popular belief is that penguins solely live in cold habitats, chiefly Antarctica. But that’s just not true.

There are South American and African penguins. You can spot them in the Galapagos Islands, and in colonies on 24 islands near Port Elizabeth in South Africa. They even pop up in Australia from time to time.

Check out these penguins chilling on Boulder Beach near Cape Town:

Penguins hanging out at Boulder Beach near Cape Town (Photo: Namastesa/Wikimedia)

6) Penguins have no fear of human contact

Bothered? (Photo: Ian Duffy/Wikimedia)

It’s an amazing experience being up and close to a penguin. If you’ve been so lucky to wander up to a penguin and wonder why it doesn’t run away, here’s the reason.

Penguins have no natural land predators (a different story if in the sea), according to the British Antarctic Survey, as they live in places that are usually free of them. Their eggs though can be vulnerable to birds such as skuas and giant petrels.

Penguins are also suffering as global warming hits their food source – namely the population of krill. A study in 2011 found that the numbers of Adelie and chinstrap penguins had decreased by 50 per cent since the mid 1980s as a result.